The Closest Thing
by LostSparrow
Summary: Din and Cara are two seasoned warriors thrust into a hectic life with the arrival of the Little One. Occasionally, the small trio finds time for rest and warm drinks in between fights, knife throwing, and angry Twi-Leks. (DinxCara)
1. Chapter 1

Cara Dune was unlike anyone Din had ever met.

Truly alert, callous, and unbelievably devoted. Devoted to her beliefs and to defend those who cannot defend themselves. That was what pushed her to join the Rebellion. She saw the injustices performed by the Empire and the Imps, who killed and tortured innocent, defenseless, people. It made anger flowed through her veins and pushed her to be the fighter she is.

So, when Din walked in on Cara and the little one sleeping together, he stopped and snorted. The seasoned warrior was propped up against the metal grate, her head resting on the heavy metal- he wonders how she can be remotely comfortable. Tucked under a burlap blanket, head on her thigh, was the little one. His long ears are carefully folded and drooped to strategically shield his eyes from the light. Din carefully walks towards them and kneels down to further observe the sleeping duo. Cara twitches and her eyes fly open, out of reflex her fist flies up. Din flitches before catching her hand before she has the chance to potentially dent his helmet. Cara snorts before her eyes drift down to the sleeping creature on her leg. She hated to admit it, but he's grown on her.

Din still holds her hand in his. He tits his head and inadvertently runs his gloved thumb over her knuckle, but quickly releases her hand and stands once again. Before the little one, it was not like Din or Cara to show any emotion other than anger, they were both too battle-hardened and too violent to feel comfortable doing so. However, after the little one came into their lives, he brought happiness and light with him. He gave them something to fight for- something good to try and protect. In Din's ship, a place was now formed which allowed them to feel safe showing emotions other than anger and rage.

Cara sighs and shuts her eyes again. She is thankful for this moment of rest in their now hectic and intertwined lives. She runs her hands over the little one's long ears before speaking. "You know, you can come to sit down with us for a while. We can rest here until someone starts shooting at us again." She finishes her sentence before opening her eyes and looking at the Mandalorian, his armor gleaming in the dim light of the underbelly of the ship.

Din is looking at his weapons showcase, deciding which one he should clean- he takes great pride in proper maintenance of his possessions. But at Cara's words, he silently shrugged and quietly tiptoed over to his companions. He settles into a spot beside Cara, careful to not touch her but she snorts and nods, indicating for him to move over and sit closer. He turns and tilts his head, questioning her actions.

"For body heat," she murmurs as she rubs the little one's ear as his squeaky snores fill the air.

"But I have armor." He rebuttals as he eases his legs up. He has to admit, all the years of fighting as left his body sore and tense.

"Shut up, idiot. Just move over." She grumbles and he obediently obliges. He slides over so his body is resting against hers, but carefully avoids disturbing the little one. He can feel her warmth seep through his armor and clothes. Her breathing is slow and steady, unlike his. He does not exactly know why but as he moved closer his breathing becomes quick and jagged. He does his best to ensure she does not hear him but to no avail.

She snorts and her head rolls to the side, mere centimeters away from his helmet. "What's wrong with you? Nervous?" she chuckles and Din sighs heavily in response but says nothing. She's become accustomed to that. He admits he's tired, the constant danger and threats to the little one have been exhausting. His eyes shut behind his helmet, but before he falls asleep, he feels Cara nudge him. He cracks open one eye, just as she leans forward and presses her face against his mask. The action is surprising but he certainly does not move away. Cara smiles with the touch, her brown eyes eventually opening so she can stare at his visor.

"The closest thing you'll get to a kiss, huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

After that brief nap, Din practically had to tackle Cara to get her to go to sleep. The stubborn woman had dark bags under her eyes, and a permanent eye twitches, since she has been up for eighteen hours. She became increasingly paranoid due to the fact they had been quietly traveling through space and no one had tried to kill them in the past two days. She has barely moved from the cockpit in hours, instead, she has been sitting almost entirely still and waiting for something to occur.

"I need you to sleep," Din says sternly from the doorway of the cockpit. She is sitting on a chair, staring at the stars, again her eye twitching, and hand tightly grasping her blaster.

"I need to be awake if something happens." She snaps back and runs her hand over her gun. Din rolls his eyes before casting a look down to the little one, who is staring at the woman with a concerned look in his little eyes. Din then approaches her with quiet footsteps. He does not want to make her feel cornered, but he can see her tired eyes drift to him and her mouth curls into a snarl.

"Cara, please. I will wake you if anything happens, but I need you to be well if we need to fight. To do so, you need rest," he tells her, his voice quiet and soft to make sure he doesn't come across as overbearing or ordering. Cara sighs and finally relents. She stands up, blaster still in hand, and begins trudging to the small cot. Din follows her below, hand extended, silently asking for the blaster.

She glares at him and shakes her head vigorously. "Just give it to me, I'm worried you'll accidentally shoot yourself in the face. I'll make soup, you can have it when you wake up." With that, he grabs the blaster and makes his way to his tiny cooking unit at the far end of the ship. Cara stares after him, half angry that he took her blaster, half thankful that he allows her a place of rest. She grunts and lays down on the stiff cot, before feeling a tiny tug on her ankle. She groans and turns to glare at the little green creature, who has his small hand on her leg and stands to coo at her. She growls before nodding and laying down with a heavy thump. The little one clammers up to lie down next to her chest. She inadvertently moves her hand up and covers his small shoulders with her fingers. Din reappears, with a blanket in his hands. He leans down and drapes the blanket over Cara and the little one, who is almost asleep already. He stops and looks again at the sleeping duo, smiling softly to himself.

Unbeknownst to him, Cara was still awake, looking at the Mandalorian through her lashes. "Why are you staring?" she mumbles, making Din snort softly.

"No reason. Go to sleep." He murmurs, before turning and returning to his bone broth.


	3. AN

_**A/N: **_

_**Hello readers! So, I know these chapters were really short- initially, I intended for this to be a one-shot only :) but, I can't get enough of this trio! So, the next chapters will be a lot longer and have a more formulaic feeling (and see some more characters!) Hope you like the chapters thus far, and I will do my best to be updating as often as possible! **_


	4. Chapter 3

After another quiet day of travel on the Razor Crest, Din set in new coordinates in hopes of finding the little one's family. The trio was gliding through the dark, star-studded sky quietly. Cara was sitting in the passenger seat, her feet propped up on Din's knee, while he cleaned his blaster. The baby is playing with his favourite silver ball, and he lifts up to his mouth and begins gnawing on it. _Shit_, Cara thinks, _he might be teething_.

Before she can turn around and take the ball out of his mouth, a sudden rumble and blast hit the ship. Cara goes flying off the chair, landing on the steel grated floor with a hard thud. Din is handling the controls and trying to get away from whatever it is that just hit them. He is looking at his monitor which shows an assuming small ship.

"Who is that?" Cara yelps as she hops on her feet, moving towards the window to try and see who is shooting at them. Turns out, it wasn't a shot, it was a small ship literally bashing itself against the Razor Crest. A loud voice comes through the communicator, making all three of them jump.

"Hey, Mando. We got a bone to pick with you."

Mando groans as the familiar voice of Mayfield fills his cockpit. Following the voice is Xi'an's high pitched laughter. He has no idea how they managed to escape the Republic Prison Ship, but he is dreading having to see them again. He also doesn't really want to try and blow them up- which would add to his already heavy conscience. Thankfully, he spots a small moon not far from them which serves as a merchant trading post. They can go there and shake off these three psychos. This trading post is illegal and unguarded, perfect for landing and disappearing. Din knows the trio are close and will follow them, so it'll have to be a fight. As he enters the trading post atmosphere and gets closer to the city, he can see a small bay that is seemingly deserted.

"We're going to have to fight," he tells Cara as he begins his landing procedures. She smirks and grabs her assault rifle.

"Good, been itching for one these past few days." She snips as she hoists the rifle up, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet while she waits for the ship to land. Din has risen out of his seat and scooped up the little one, before sliding down the stairs and carefully stowing him away in the cot. "Don't worry, I'll come back to you. Stay here." He instructs before turning and joining Cara at the now lowering door. She is breathing slowly and he turns and looks at her. He knows she'll be fine.

Mayfield, Burg, and Xi'an are already out of their ship and are sauntering over to the lowering bay door. Cara sneers at the sight of them. Din had previously told her about what happened at the Republic Prison Ship and their betrayal. Din and Cara begin walking down the bay door, reaching the bottom quickly. The metal bay is small and dimly lit, with only a few streams of light shining through the rusted metal. The three prisoners are all flexing their muscles and sneering at the duo. Din rolls his eyes under his helmet before reaching around and running his fingers over his holster.

Mayfield smirks and saunters up to Cara, who is glaring at him. "Huh, look at this number you shacked up with-"

He doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Cara has punched him so hard in the nose it immediately breaks and blood begins gushing. He falls to the ground, swearing, and holding his nose. Burg roars and comes thundering towards Cara, but with one foot up, she uses his chest as a prop and propels herself off the ground before falling back down on his neck, hard. The two crash to the floor in a tangled mess, Cara snarling and holding him in a chokehold, before pulling out her blaster and shooting him in his small remnants of horns.

Xi'an sneers and hisses, pulling out one of her daggers. Her eyes flit to Din first, who was kneeling beside Cara, trying to pull Burg off, but then she goes to Cara. The woman had no armor on her neck or arms, which were an easy target for the skilled Xi'an. With one quick thrust of her wrist, Cara yells out as the blade sinks into her shoulder, but luckily, not her neck. Thanks to a punch from Burg, she had moved to the right ever so slightly which may have saved her life. However, the Twi'Lek screams before taking aim again at Cara.

"Xi'an!" Din roars before turning and holding up his blaster- but before he can make any sort of move, the Twi'Lek looks shocked as she is suddenly blasted backward and goes flying towards the metal wall, hitting it with such force she is knocked out almost instantly. Mayfield is staring wide-eyed before turning to find the source of the power, astonished to see the little green pet who had seemingly magically appeared next to Cara and Din, but who was now huddled on the floor. Burg still had Cara by the shoulders, with Din on top of him. But, as he sees Mayfield look towards the creature, he snarls.

"Don't you touch him," Din warns, but the dumbass doesn't listen. He goes running towards the creature, blood and saliva on his wild face making him look manic. Din doesn't hesitate in shooting him three times with his blaster, so the wild crazed man falls to the ground before reaching the child. Burg has thrown Cara off and then reaches up and grabs Din by the neck, looking vicious. This time, it's Cara's turn to get angry. She is breathing heavily due to the wound in her shoulder and the blood loss, but she grabs her assault rifle and shoots so many times at Burg's stomach that the creature falls to the ground. She is still breathing heavily as her head drops back on the metal floor, wincing as more blood gushes out of her arm. It is not a serious wound, but it hurts like hell. Din walks over, with the little one in his arms, and he gingerly looks at the wound on her arm. Cara hisses before pulling herself up and rolling her eyes, brushing off his hand.

"It's fine. Don't be such a worrier." She says and begins searching the barren metal bay for anything she can use as a bandage. They hear a groan and both look up to see Xi'an gaining consciousness. She looks at the fallen bodies of Burg and Mayfield, quickly jumping up and limping towards her small ship. She turns and snarls, curling her upper lip and holding a dagger at Din. "This isn't over, Mando. You'll see me again." And with that, she runs into her ship. She knows she's outnumbered and would lose this fight, but next time, she will make sure she is the winner.

Cara sighs before turning back to Din, who is once again holding her arm. He runs his thumb across her skin and shakes his head. She snorts, as Xi'an's ship begins rising. "Nice friends." Din is frowning, upset he roped her into this mess. He doesn't offer any words, instead, he leans forward and presses his forehead softly against hers. Her eyes are shut and she breathes out heavily. Sitting below them, the little one has lazily opened his eyes, he softly puts his hand over Din's forearm and leans his head on Cara's knee. A moment of rest now will do them all some good.


	5. Chapter 4

Cara sighs and sips on her hot drink that Din had just given her. It's a warm, sweet brown drink and it warms up her stomach. Din is wrapping the little one up in a warmer tweed blanket as the temperature in the Razor Crest has dropped since their return to space. After the fight, the three once again boarded and Din had punched in the coordinates for their next destination. They received intel about a swampy planet which houses all arrays and species of creatures, hopefully, including the little one's species.

Din finishes and settles the baby down on a little stool, before walking to Cara. She glances at him but continues drinking and offers no words. He can see the brutal, purple bruises littering her neck as a reminder of her fight with Burg. Din feels angry as he looks at the marks on her neck and he reaches forward, running his fingers across the bruised flesh.

Cara shakes him off before sipping more of her drink. "I've had way worse than that," She laughs out, but quickly notices the baby is also staring at her with a little frown on his face. She looks at both Din and the baby before rolling her eyes. "You two worry way too much." she snaps before grabbing her black cloth and wrapping it around her neck to conceal the bruises. Din shrugs but walks away, shaking his head. He is upset that she got hurt in the crossfire, but he knew that this will be a reality for as long as they travel together.

Cara stretches out her arm, cringing at the red inflammation crawling up her shoulder. Din was standing in front of his weapons showcase, carefully observing each one, ensuring they're not damaged. "What the hell did that Twi'Lek put in those daggers?" she asks him as she rubs the tender flesh.

"Poison. Luckily it's weak, plus you only got one and it didn't stay in you long. I doubt it would penetrate your muscle anyways." Din responds as he steps back from the showcase, once again turning to look at her. The baby had begun crawling across the table, his wide eyes meeting hers. He raises his little hand but she quickly grabs it and pushes it down again.

"Don't use your energy on me, little one. I'll be fine," she says before lifting him up and placing him back on his stool.

o0o

At the new planet, Cara walks around, her eyebrows raised as she looks at this strange, swampy planet. Everything is covered in moss. The trees, the ground, all she sees is green. Her boots squish into the ground and she wrinkled her nose. Din was behind her, poking his head around a tree. He sees something which tweaks his interest; a cave. He feels strangely drawn to it.

He begins walking over, trying to conceal the sound of his footsteps. He reaches the cave, noting how incredibly dark it was. The dark stone on the floor is at a tilt, and he can hear the discernible sound of running water. It must be attached to an underground well or stream. He picks up a small stone and flicks it towards the bottom of the cave; in response, he hears a heavy plop, which proved it was a lot deeper than he thought. He moves closer to the pool of water to inspect it further, seeing that is, in fact, swelling and seemingly getting larger.

Outside, Cara is still staring at this bizarre planet. She admits that they are well covered, there are a plethora of trees and plants and rocks covering every inch of this land. The Razor Crest is well concealed, with the baby sleeping safely on board. She begins looking around for Din and spots him at the mouth of the cave, but she has a sinking feeling. She quickly looks up and quickens her pace, feeling like danger is upon them.

"Hey, Din, we need to leave!" She calls out as she begins running to the cave, looking desperately for the Mandalorian. Her premonition was correct; as suddenly the sky opens and the torrential downpour begins. The rain is so heavy that Cara is slammed to the ground and she quickly begins sputtering as it clogs her airways. Over the deafening rain, she hears a loud boom. She crawls towards the cave, only feet away from the opening. However, before she could make it, the weight of the rain and the result of the loud boom dislodges the large rocks and boulders from the rock wall, and they tumble in front of the small cave opening. She feels her stomach drop as she realizes the worst scenario; Din was caught on the inside of the cave. She stumbles towards the cave, still coughing and sputtering as she slams her body against the rocks. "Din!" she shouts as she tries to see anything she can use as a ply to open the cave.

On the other side, Din is also pushing against the rocks. There is no natural light left in the cave, but his fear is rising quickly. The boom Cara had heard was an underwater geyser at the cave, and the reaction had caused a sudden swell of the water and it began to quickly fill the cave. With the sudden collapse of the boulders into the entrance, he had been trapped quickly. The water swells so quickly that it already touches his toes. He gulps and turns around, pressing his hand against the rocks. He can tell that his blaster won't be able to dislodge the boulders.

"Are you okay in there? I need you to stand back, I'm going to try and blast the rock away!" Cara screams, before looking up at the rocks above the cave. The rock wall pushes up against the side of the lush green mountain, and there are so many boulders on top of the opening she is concerned that even if she blows the boulders away, more will fall down in front and keep him trapped in.

"Cara- there's water in the cave. A lot of it." He informs her, as the water is now at his ankles.

"Just hold on, I'll get you out!" she screams at him, but as she finishes her words, another boom ripples through the air. Din pins his body against the wall as the steam begins to fill the cave, followed by the swelling of the water. It begins to fill the cave, at double the pace it was before. The water is at his waist in barely any time.

"Oh, shit," he mutters.


	6. Chapter 5

Cara is still shoving against the soaking boulders, moaning loudly as she desperately tries to move the blockades to Din, who is still standing on the other side. He pounds loudly before pressing his helmet against the rock, feeling defeated and unsure of his chances as the water is almost now up at his chest. Cara is going over her options but in the end; only one solution comes to mind.

"Din, I'll be back, don't drown!" she screams and turns, sprinting back in the direction of the ship. She punches the green shrubbery out of her way as she focuses solely on finding the ship. The heavy rain is almost impossible for her to see, but she finally sees the grey blob of the ship. She sees the ramp is down from the gaping hole that is visible. Suddenly, its as if the raindrops are suspended into the air. She gasps and looks around, at the water that is halted in the air. The baby is standing just beside her, his little hand up and he is staring alertly at her. She gulps and kneels down, holding his hand in hers.

"Listen, I don't understand the magic hand thing, but I need you to do it! He's trapped in a cave!" She screeches and the baby nods, understanding what she was saying. She scoops him up and lurches back to the cave, trying hard to run as the sudden downpour of rain has started once again. The baby has his eyes shut and seems to be collecting his strength as he waits for Cara to deliver him to his father. Cara skids to a stop in front of the huge boulders, breathing quickly as she is out of breath from running. Water has begun to stream out of the top of the cave, and she feels her heart sink as she realizes that Din is on the other side; out of air. She places the little one down and he bravely squares his shoulders and waddles to be directly in front of the biggest boulder. His little eyes look up and he blinks, trying to get the fat water droplets away from his vision. He breathes out and reaches his little hand forward.

Cara's mouth pops open as the water is once again suspended in the air; followed by the massive grey boulders. Each one is lifted into the mossy, tree-laden air. Cara counts twenty-five before she hears the gushing of water and sees Din come crashing out of the cave. He spins to a stop, sputtering and choking, in front of the little one. He also sees the suspended boulders in the air and is in pure shock. All they see is boulders floating amongst the highest trees.

Cara sees the little baby start to waver and she lurches forward, grabbing Din by the shoulders and pulling him back into the swampy floor to make sure he doesn't get squat by the rocks. They both fall to the ground as the baby falls, making all of the boulders crash into place in front of the cave once again. Cara is still holding Din by his shoulders and has him cradled on her lap. Her mouth is hanging open as the rain continues to stream down and crash onto the trio.

"Where the hell are we? How can he do that?" She chokes out and looks down at Din, who is looking at the little one to make sure he is okay.

Din sighs heavily before answering her. He is holding on to her arm and squeezes her forearm tightly. "Dagobah. It's called Dagobah."


	7. Chapter 6

Cara is still breathing heavily as she gazes at their surroundings. Din is still seated on the mossy ground, holding onto the little one's hand. Cara looks down at the two and bites her lip, shaking her head again. She walks forward and touches the mossy tree, feeling the moisture that sticks and lingers to every aspect of this place. She cannot deny the fact that she feels a sense of power emitting from this place.

"How the hell did we even get here?" she asks Din as she continuously peers around the trees. The dense greenery is heavy, but far from quiet. There are loud noises emitting throughout the planet from the multiple creatures living on this planet. A large flapping bat looking animal suddenly shook their giant black wings from a high above tree branch. She flinches as the creature begins flying away through the dense treeline.

Din has risen from his place on the ground and begins wandering over to join her, his eyes gazing at the wonders of this planet. He reaches her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "This planet was a tip," he responds and he feels her instantly freeze under his touch.

"Wait, where did you get this tip?" She inquires as she gazes around, trying to pinpoint this bizarre feeling being emitted from this planet.

"Honestly… It was from someone from Coruscant. When we were at the MassStar bar. You were fighting someone. I didn't see who it was, but someone at the bar came up behind me and just said to go to Dagobah." He responds, leaning against a large, mossy tree and is gazing at the greenery himself.

Cara's head snaps around and she stares at him for over a minute before finally speaking, very slowly and angrily. "You seriously trusted that? Really? You trusted a stranger, who magically appeared, and told you to go to Dagobah?"

"Yeah… I was desperate and out of ideas," He mumbles, knowing she's very close to exploding. He can see her eye twitching and she slams her head on a tree trunk, wincing and not saying anything. He continues looking around, only to have something catch his attention. In the middle of a bog, he sees a small hut. He tilts his head and he sees the little one raise his hand and gesture towards the hut. "I'm sorry, Cara. I just really felt we needed to come here." He murmurs and turns to see Cara has silently joined him. She is looking at him, rolling her eyes. He leans forward and presses his helmet against her face and she shuts her eyes, sighing.

"I wish I could hate you."


	8. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you're all staying safe during this hectic time. I hope to be updating more (I don't have the excuse of not having enough time to write now haha) let me know if you like this chapter, particularly the *steamy* little bit between Din and Cara at the end (if so, I'll be sure to include more scenes like that in the future ;) ) stay safe and stay inside! **_

The three of them slowly walk through the dense swampland, the little one perched on Din's shoulder. Cara examines the hut, it's small and basically looks like it's caving in on itself. There were crawling vines up the side of the hut and the tree, which it was attached to. There's a heavy fog on the ground and the air feels so dense, she feels like it's difficult for her to breathe. Din is standing close to her and he is examining the hut too.

The little one is staring so intently at the hut, he raises his hand and points. Din nods and begins walking carefully over to the hut, Cara following. It looks like no one has lived there for years, it is barren and dark seeps out of the window.

"So, this tip that you got from a stranger, do you have any idea who they were? Or why they magically knew where we needed to go?" Cara inquired as she waded through knee height swamp, which made walking a lot difficult. She also realizes that they're going to have to wash their clothes when they get back to the ship, as Din and Cara are now covered in thick black mud.

"Nope. I wish I did. I didn't want to listen to it at first, but something told me to. I can't explain it, it's like that person was magical and just disappeared after they told me to go to Dagobah. I didn't even see them." He told her as he sinks deeper into the swamp, up to his waist. Ugh, all of his armor and clothes are now sticking to every crevice of his body. He desperately needs a shower.

"So, a magical being showed up and told you to come here? Honestly, I'm not surprised." She mutters, rolling her eyes. She is almost up to her ribs now and she has to reach up and grab a low hanging vine to try and pull herself up and closer to this damn hut.

Din is about to answer, but he is interrupted by the little one suddenly raising his hand. He closes his heavy green lids and Din suddenly feels himself lurch out of the ground and he begins floating, in the air.

Cara stands with her mouth hanging open wide as the sight of Din and the baby hangs in the air. Funnily enough, Din doesn't say anything as he is used to bizarre happenings with this baby. Din is floating closer to the window, but then he starts to squirm as he realizes there is no chance he will fit through that window. But the little one is uncaring as he floats effortlessly through the window with Din in tow.

"Oh, shi-" he begins to groan before his head slams into the window, followed by this torso, and then his head again. He is bashed against the window another three times before the baby seems to finally notice that his father simply won't fit into the window as he did. Cara's laughs can be heard from her position in the swamp. Din floats to the mossy ground and he sighs heavily. He stands up and holds his finger up to the little baby and shakes it. "Hold on, I need to get Cara. Don't move." He groans and begins crawling to the swamp, seeing a giant stick sticking out of the ground. He rips it out and holds it out for her. She is almost up to her neck now but manages to reach a hand up and grabs hold of the stick. Din begins hauling her through the swamp, as she sputters and chokes on the mud. He finally pulls her up to the hut and she reaches up to her other arm, managing to grab hold of his shoulders and he grips her waist before pulling her successfully out of the mud. They're both covered in mud, head to toe, and it's so dark the only thing that is visible is the top of Cara's forehead and her eyes. She rolls her eyes before walking around the hut and finding a little door, pushing it open with her shoulder and practically falls into the building. It's small and dark and she can't imagine why the little one wants to come here. He is curiously looking around the room, but his attention becomes fixated on a scroll that is hanging precariously off an old table. He tilts his head and points at it and Din walks forward and carefully picks it up. It's old, very old, he can tell that. He turns it over in his hands, but with no light, he has no chance of reading it. He carefully rolls it up and places it in his utility belt. The baby is walking around more, clearly intrigued by this place.

"What is this place?" Cara asks as she sits down and leans against the wall, clearly confused as to why on earth they're here in this small abandoned hut. The baby, however, suddenly gurgles and makes a noise from deeper inside the hut. Cara and Din have to practically crawl into the adjacent room, where the little one stands. In his hands is an old, withered cane. It is small and he is holding it tightly. It's clearly far too small for humans to use, but too big for the baby to use right now.

"Do you think his people were here?" Cara asks quietly as she observes the little ones bizarre actions. Din shakes his head before looking outside, realizing it would be best for them to return to their ship and come back during daylight.

"I don't even know if his people exist anymore. I've never seen anything like them. If they were here, they must have abandoned this place a long time ago. If not, they're doing a damn good job of hiding." He responds and Cara nods. The baby has waddled over to Din, clearly growing tired after his escapades. Din scoops him and begins crawling back to the door, Cara following on her hands and knees.

"You have to admit something feels… Weird here. Like there's something alive and powerful here." She tells him as they finally reach the exit and make their way back out, yet again, to the swamp. Din nods in an agreement and they silently make their way back to the ship, with only the sounds of animals and the rustling of shrubs surrounding them.

* * *

Din never in his life expected to see Cara naked. Well, he had wanted to if she had chosen to show him, but he never expected it to be in a situation of trying to literally peel the mud-soaked clothes off her body and it took him nearly thirty minutes. They were plastered to her and caked on so heavily that it took her pulling the hem of her shirt, him pulling the back and a lot of grunting and groaning before they were finally able to tear her dark grey shirt off. She wasn't wearing her armor today, thankfully, only a long-sleeved shirt and black pants which tied up in the front.

After finally ripping the shirt off, he falls over and stays on the floor, just glancing up to see the sight of her bareback. She had another tattoo on her shoulder, he didn't know about that one. The light from the bathroom shone and illuminated her bronze skin, and she glanced behind at him, smirking. He leans back, so he can get a better view of her.

"I can close my eyes if you want," he mutters from his position.

"I know you want to see it, Mandalorian. Now, help me take off my pants." She says, still smirking the whole time as she reaches forwards and turns the shower head on blast. Soon, steam fills the small, metal washroom. Din rises from his spot, grabbing her by the waist and turning her around quickly. She is smiling now, not smirking as much. His hands reached down and began untying the laces of her pants and he felt his heart begin to beat faster. His fingers trace the skin on her stomach before sliding down to the hem of her pants and her breath catches.

Cara is standing close to him he can feel her breath on him, but then he stops, and steps away. Cara looks disappointed, but she doesn't question him. She knows him well and she admits this isn't a normal relationship. Honestly, she can't even call it a relationship and she knows that. She swallows hard before running her hand under the water to begin scrubbing away the caked mud on her arms.

He walks to the door, his back to her. "You deserve someone who can show you their face. Enjoy the shower, I'll make you soup." He tells her before trying to walk out, but he is stopped when something hits him on the helmet. He swivels around to see Cara standing there, glaring and she stomps her foot, almost like a grumpy toddler.

"You don't get to decide that for me. Plus, I like the helmet." She grumbles before walking into the shower, instantly the water at her feet turns black as the mod and swamp goo washes off her. Over the water streams, she hears the door close. Her eyes are shut and she leans back and relishes the feeling of the hot water and steam surrounding her. She cracks an eye open only to see a pile of clean clothes and towels neatly folded beside the shower. Damn that Mandalorian and his silent footsteps.


	9. Chapter 8

Din leans against the wall of the hut, observing the small child as it once again stares transfixed at the scantily decorated hut. It is their second-day on this planet and the heavy fog blanketing the forest and swamps has yet to lift. This morning, at the first small hints of daylight, the baby had been up and standing, almost impatiently, at the door. He turned and gurgled at Din, who had been sleeping on the floor. In the next minute, he was awoken from his heavy slumber by a small metal cup being thrown at his arm. He groaned before standing up and stumbling over to the child, picking it up and clumsily reaching for the button to lower the door. As Din carries the baby to the hut, he can tell that the baby has much greater strength here than he did in any other planets or in space. His power has seemed to double, proven by the sheer amount of boulders he was able to control the day earlier.

The groggy Mandalorian rolls his eyes at the small child who has been quiet since entering the hut, almost like he is lost in a trance. Din looks once again at the scroll in his hands but it's entirely nonsensical to him. It just looks like drawings of planets and writing in a language he can't even begin to understand. The baby is sitting on the ground, the stick in his hands, and his eyes shut. His little green body is eerily still and it looks like he is meditating, but he takes a long breath every few seconds. He hears a loud bang outside and his hand flies to the pistol hoisted in his belt, but a mere second later he hears the thundering sound of rain crashing grom the sky.

"Great, more rain. Cara will love this." He grumbles as he crawls on his hands and knees to the window to look outside, but frowns at the sight of sheets and sheets of rain cascading on the shrubbery. As he peers out the window, he nearly jumps out of his skin when Cara's face suddenly appears in the window, looking pissed off and soaking wet.

"Let. Me. In." She snarls at him, her dark hair is plastered to her cheeks and her eyes have fire in them. He nods and quickly reaches his hand out to take hers. She reaches her hands through and with one heave he pulls the grumpy woman through the small window. However, her hips get caught in the window. She rolls her eyes and snarls again, but Din is holding back laughter at the sight of the seasoned warrior being stuck in the hut window.

"I hate this planet." She snaps as Din places his foot on a wall and breathes in. He takes hold of her forearms and strokes her right arm with his thumb before speaking again.

"Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three," he days before pulling her with all his weight, and she finally crashes through the window, tumbling and falling directly on top of him. He bangs his head on the ground and heaves as her full weight crashes on him. Before she has the chance to crawl off him, he wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly. She rolls her eyes but smiles at him, before resting her head against his helmet. Her soaking wet clothes are sending water droplets over his armor. She stays there for a few moments, relishing the feeling of being with him because Din offers her a feeling of safety and security. She knows she can't stay there for too long, so she finally pushes herself up and carefully crawls over to the little one, who is still sitting silently and meditating. She decides to go further into the hut and see if she can find any more information about this bizarre place. In the hut, she finds a metal pot and what looks like a sink. She picks up the pot and turns it over in her hands, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Where do you get metal on a planet like this?" she wonders out loud to herself. She glances at the sink, which raises even more questions. Whoever made this had knowledge of how to construct ducts which allowed for water to stream into the sink. She places the bowl down and peers down at another room in the hut and begins crawling towards it. Inside was the bed and she immediately notes that a fixture which is screwed into the wall, appears to be what looked like a piece of lighting fixture from a ship or a pod. She crawls closer and looks at it, shaking her head. The more they explore this place, the more questions arise and she is doubting if they will ever get any real answers. A small box at the base of the cot catches her eye and she reaches forward, opening the lid slowly. Inside this box lies a ragged piece of cloth, but as she lifts it up, she sees two shining metal tubes. She picks one up curiously, rolling the tube around in her hand. It is lighter than she thought it would be, and it is silver with dark accents around the base. She notices what looks like a button and places her thumb on it. She debates if she should press it but decides whats the worst thing that can really happen if she does. So, she takes a deep breath and presses down on the metal button. Instantly, a burst of light and a fiery heat overwhelm her senses and the metal tube has emitted a fierce blade of light. Cara lets out a startled cry and drops the metal tube instantly, and the blade disappears and the metal casing is left rolling on the floor. Din has appeared instantly in the room and has his hands on her arm, clearly concerned.

"What happened? What did you find? Are you hurt?" he asks her as she kicks the metal tube with her foot, wondering if the blade will come back. She looks at him and shakes her head, still feeling startled from whatever that thing is.

"I have no idea what it was. I don't know what any of this stuff is!" she exclaims and rubs her hands over her face. She hates feeling like she doesn't understand a situation or doesn't have control of something, it makes her feel weak. Din is still behind her, breathing heavily. He feels just as confused about this place as she does, but he knows the little one wants to stay here, and he will do whatever it takes to get the baby back to his people. Din puts his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a tight embrace. She rests her head on his shoulder, her eyes shut and an audible sigh leaves her mouth. His other hand is resting on her thigh and he squeezes it.

"You don't have to stay here with us if you don't want to. You can leave anytime, you have no obligation to us," he tells her quietly. He hates to say it because he would hate if she left, but he has no wish to force her to stay against her will. He would miss her, but if she was happier leaving him than he would be happy for her.

Cara rolls her eyes and shakes her head quickly. "I have every obligation. I told you once that I won't leave you and I stand by it," she responds and then shakes off his arms, before reaching forward and once again taking hold of the metal tube. She hands it to him and he takes it, staring at it and he wrinkles his forehead in confusion.

"What is this?" he asks as he rolls it around, feeling it's weight and taking mental notes of each of the accents decorating it. It is clearly a weapon of some sorts but he is unsure of its actual use, maybe it is just something handy to throw at people when you're mad at them.

"I have no idea, it was the thing that I found. Everything here doesn't make sense," Cara murmurs before returning to the main compartment of the hut where the little one still sits motionless, the piece of wood in his hands. Din is behind her and he is looking at the scroll in his hands but is shaking his head at it, clearly unsure of what it means. He hears the sound of the rain hitting off the hut at an even more rapid rate than before and he knows it'll be best for the three of them to remain sheltered in the hut for the time being to protect them from the rain. He still wonders if they're being chased and hunted by anyone else looking for the child and he does not doubt that they are. He is hoping Dagobah is obscure enough to keep them hidden, but he is not certain how long this place will offer them shelter, or, will it soon become their battleground.


	10. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Hi readers! I have a shorter chapter as I am going through a move and life has been hectic. but I needed more Din and Cara. I hope everyone is staying safe. **_

"Come outside with me for a minute," Din asks Cara in a quiet tone. The baby has, unsurprisingly, not moved and seems to still be in a trance. It has been hours since the trio has arrived at the little hut, but the baby shows no sign of moving. Din plans on returning to Razor Crest to gather a small meal for them, but before he does he wants to see Cara. Or rather, he wants to show her something. He does not know what she will say or how it will go, but he desperately wants to do this. Cara follows him wordlessly as they exit the main room of the dimly lit hut and enter into the heavy, fogged night time outside. For once, the rain has ceased, and instead, the air feels thick with moisture and dense fog. The dark night reveals bundles of stars in the sky as well as several bugs who seem to be glowing as they float in the air. Cara reaches her finger out and manages to catch a little glowing beetle, and it crawls around on her finger. She chuckles at the small thing before Din's cough makes her turn to him.

"Close your eyes," he tells her. He has stepped very close to her as she raises an eyebrow. The fog seems to float around her hips and she reaches up, tucking her dark hair behind her ear as she waits for a further explanation. He is breathing heavily as he reaches forward with almost trembling fingers to clutch her hands tightly. "I need you to trust me, close your eyes." He murmurs.

Cara doesn't push him any further, instead, she just smiles and shuts her eyes. Din has never shown anyone what he was about to show her, he never thought he would ever do something like this. He trusts her immensely and knows that this action will be safe with her. His fingers hook under his helmet and he quietly removes it. His helmet is his shield and his pride, but he has the pleasure of looking at Cara's face every day, the closest thing he can do to return this favor is to let her feel his face.

"Keep your eyes shut," he whispers before hoisting his helmet under his arm and reaching forward, gingerly taking her hand in his, then lifting it up and placing it on his cheek. She sucks her breath in, but her eyes remain shut. She steps forward and clutches his face with both of her hands. Her thumbs begin to trace his cheekbones, before her index fingers slowly trace out the shape of his eyes. Her right-hand slips down to his nose, then her thumb lowers down to his lips. She slowly draws her thumb over his lips, mentally taking note of the shape of his lips. The small scar on the corner of his mouth, the indent on the top of his lip. Her other hand reaches up to his forehead and she gently rubs his forehead. He inadvertently leans forward into her palm, sighing heavily. Her other hand leaves his lips and her hand snakes up his cheek, before intertwining her fingers in his hair. She pulls him closer until her face is nestled against his. Her eyes are still squeezed shut. His hands are resting on her hips, tightly.

He won't kiss her, and this is still the closest thing he has to a kiss. Cara seems to understand this and does not push him. She smiles against his lips and nestles her face closer to his. "You feel beautiful," she tells him quietly. Din feels safe with her and he is thankful for these ever-present quiet moments in their hectic life.


	11. Chapter 10

Cara sits in the Razorcrest, her feet propped on the dashboard, and her eyes shut. She has her hands folded behind her head, and she is deciding to take a nap, she can't even remember how many days its been since they landed on Dagobah, and she feels like there has been no progress. The baby just sits quietly and has now refused to leave the hut entirely, so Din and Cara take turns returning to the ship for supplies or rest.

A sudden beeping makes her eyes fly open, and she glances down to see the signal that a message is coming in. She quickly presses the flashing red button and immediately sees the sight of Greef Karga. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, but she quickly realizes this is a prerecorded hologram message, and she isn't used to seeing the usually composed man looking aggravated and stressed.

"Mando, Cara… You guys need to leave whatever planet you're on. You're both wanted with a sizeable bounty on both of your heads. There's an unimaginable one on the little guys. They're already coming for you. They're tracking the Razorcrest. Ditch the ship and get to safety. Good luck." Greef murmurs before shaking his head, and the hologram disappears. Cara feels her heart sink, and she immediately jumps up and grabs a rifle, strapping it to her back and opening the bay door so she can run out. Quickly, a fire from a blaster makes her duck and roll behind a tree, and she breathes heavily before going silent to try and hear who is attacking her. Cara quickly glances behind her and sees a small grey ship tucked into the thick shrubbery. Standing in front of the Razorcrest is someone she does not recognize the individual standing there, who has their blasters drawn. The creature has four arms and is making a weird clicking noise, clearly looking for Cara. It seems like an amateur bounty hunter, making her think that more than one bounty hunter is hunting for them. She takes another breath before rolling out to the left of the thick tree trunk and blasting the thing off its feet. She didn't realize the bounty hunter had a thermal detonator strapped to its belt. The explosion happens instantly, and Cara has no time to process it or prepare herself. She is thrown back against the trees, and the world goes black.

Din finds her not long after. He had heard the explosion and grabbed the baby before leaping through the thick swamp to find the source of the noise. His heart stops when he sees Cara, uncharacteristically, still on the swamp floor. Flames lick at the trees, and soot is falling through the air. He hoists the baby on his shoulder before he grabs Cara by the shoulders, dragging her back into the Razocrcrest in the next second. There is no sign of any other person. Instead, all of the swampy marshland is in flames and fire. He feels heartbroken looking at the destruction on this peaceful planet,

A sudden cough form Cara makes him jump, and he kneels beside her, holding her head up so she can get a clearer pathway to breathe. Her face is covered in black soot, and she has a burn on her arms.

"We need to get out of here," she chokes out as she rolls on to her hands and knees, getting worried that she can't find her rifle. "And we need to leave the Razorcrest." she finishes as she pulls herself off the floor, trying to ignore the ringing in her head. Din is next to her in a second, trying to support her from falling. When she tells him about leaving his beloved ship, Din freezes.

"What? Why" he asks her.

"Greef left us a message. We're being hunted, Din! I guarantee it's by remaining Empire Loyalists who wish to squash the force-sensitive beings in the universe once again, and I am sure that is what he is!" She exclaims and points at the baby. "That must be what the kid is, just like Luke Skywalker! I knew there was something different with him. You have the task to protect the baby until we find his family, but you can't do that if we're in danger, so we need to ditch the Razorcrest and get a new ship." she practically screams as she kneels over, trying to force herself to get over the buzzing in her ears. She feels disoriented, and her body is incredibly sore. Din has yet to answer, and he doesn't have time to respond before another explosion rocks the Razorcrest. Din and Cara tumble to one side of the ship to the other, before Cara falls out of the open hatch door, onto the still smoldering swamp floor. She hears the angry hissing and crying of the injured animals.

The next noise makes her grit her teeth, She hears that damn giggle, and she immediately curses under her breath. She kicks herself back, so she is hidden under the hatch door- she hears a crack from the sky, and rain starts to descend in sheets from the air. The rain dances off the Twi'lek, who is now stalking around the Razorcrest, hissing, and snarling. Din is kneeling inside, a blaster in hand. He does not want to kill her, but he sincerely doubts that Xi'an shares the same idea.

"So, where's my Mando? I knew to put that tracker in the Razorcrest was a good idea." Xi'an cackles as she begins stalking the hatch door waiting for Cara to come up. Cara rolls her eyes, and Din curses the fact she had done that without him noticing. Her fingers dance over her daggers, and she is waiting for the warrior to come out.

Her eyes flit back and forth, finally seeing Cara's shoulder. She grabs a dagger, but before she can try and kill Cara, she cries out as a blaster shot hits her in the stomach. Cara rolls out and catches her in the shoulder before she tackles her and they roll to the edge of a massive cliff. Cara grits her teeth at the fiery Twi'lek, who is snapping and snarling at her, but with one mighty kick, Cara kicks her rival off the side of the cliff. Xi'an howls as she goes flying off the cliff and crashes to the swamp floor. Cara is breathing heavily, as Din comes to her side, his blaster still drawn.

"We need to leave," she growls as she holds her painful, burned arm.

"I know."


	12. Chapter 11

Cara is breathing heavily before glancing back to the Razorcrest, chewing her cheek, and trying to figure out what their plan will be. Then, her idea practically hits her over the head. She perks up, and her mouth drops open, and Din looks at her with a tilted head.

"My uncle was apart of the farming colony in Nadiem in the Outer Rim Territories. He died a few years ago after the war, but the farm has been left abandoned since then. We could go there, at least for a while. We still need to get rid of the Razorcrest, it's being tracked." She informs Din. She feels bad for Din, she knows he loves the ship.

"Peli Motto, in Mos Eisley. We can leave the ship there and then get something from her." Din murmurs before looking at his beloved ship, feeling a twinge of pain at the thought of having to abandon the ship that has served him so well throughout all the years. He looks at the surroundings, the beautiful greenery of the planet which is now engulfed in flames and smoke. It seems like wherever they go- they cause a trail of destruction.

The little one is also looking around, the sides of his little green mouth tugging into a frown. He also seems to understand the destruction they've caused. They hear a squeal, and a see a purple, winged creature trapped under a burning branch. The things poor, burned, the skin is charred black from flames and soot. Din takes a step over, to try and free the hurt creature, but in the next moment, the branch floats into the air.

Cara blinks and swallows hard while the beaked creature limps out of its spot. It is breathing heavily, twitching, due to its wounds. It'll die eventually, because of the three of them.

"Come on, we need to leave." Din murmurs and scoops up the little one, carrying it silently onto the ramp. Cara takes one last look at the bizarre planet. She closes her eyes, listening to the wailings and flappings of the animals and revelling the feeling of power that emits from the ground. With a final look, she limps onto the Razorcrest.

* * *

The route to Mos Eisley was almost entirely quiet. The little one is sitting in front of the ramp, seemingly heartbroken that he left the planet. His hands are wrapped tightly around the piece of wood he found. Cara is sleeping silently on the cot. Din hates looking at the bruises and burns littering her arms, and the blackened soot covering her face.

As he reaches Mos Eisley, he frowns at the sight of the scummy city. He had hoped to never come back here, but they need to abandon the ship and try to get somewhere safely. He absentmindedly runs his thumb over the scroll which is still in his toolbelt. Maybe, they can finally find more answers about the scroll, though. Din sees Bay three-five and begins his descent into the dingy hanger, and a moment later- Peli comes running out. Her straggly, curly hair is plastered over her face and she has black grease on her hands. Din smiles under his mask. Seeing a familiar face is a small moment of comfort. A few pit droids tumble out at her feet.

It takes him a minute to exit the ship, but Peli is already waltzing up. She rubs her greasy palms on her pants before throwing her arms around Din. "Well, well. Was wonderin' when you'd make it back here! Where's that cute baby?" she inquiries, poking her head around him to check the ramp. She frowns when there's no sign of the little one.

"He's in there. We need your help, Peli. He's being tracked, and I need an untrackable transport, and get rid of the Razorcrest." He tells her.

Peli raises her eyebrows in surprise but nods her head. "We'll dump the ship in the outskirts, I should be able to rustle up something suitable for you. Take me a bit, though. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. Watch the droids," she instructs and Din nods. He glances at his ship and frowns. He'll miss that bucket of bolts.


End file.
